Fat People Raising Health Care Costs

Off Topic
41

People make personal choices - it is what being an individual is all about. I don’t really mind if a person makes bad decisions and winds up obese. What I mind is making me financially responsible for an obese person’s poor decisions making skills.

Why should I be forced to pay higher rates for my medical insurance so I can underwrite somebody else’s policy? I pay a premium already trying to buy the right foods, maintain a home gym, and a healthy lifestyle. Why don’t I get a break? Why aren’t my efforts tax deductible?

Nope, instead I’m forced to pay more for someone else’s hand to mouth disease. Same thing with people that don’t wear seatbelts or helmets. Look, if you have an accident and are not wearing a seatbelt, then you should be responsible for paying your own freakin’ bills due to the injuries incurred via your choice. Same with the motorcyclists that refuses to wear the helmet, gloves, and leathers. Same with obese people.

You have diabetes? Your condition is directly related to the fact you are 200 lbs overweight? Well buddy, you are going to have to pay for your own medical treatment.

People should be free to make their own decisions. But those same people should also be free to take personal responsibility for those same decisions.

The United States of America has become the land of the eternally offended and the non-responsible party. Folks need to grow the fuck up. You did it to your damned self - now deal with the consequences.

42

[quote]TigerFighter wrote:
pookie wrote:
TigerFighter wrote:
I do think the goverment needs to regulate this area. The goverment is for the people, and if this epidemic as they call it doesn’t warrent attention, tell me what does?

How would the government regulate this? How can you control how many bags of chips someone eats in his living room?

You can’t. But you can make nutrition information easier to read. I saw on the news there was a blueberry muffin that boasted only 150 calories per serving. They then added in small print serving size three. For one muffin.

You can teach kids how to read a label on food. Schools have no issue dishing out fries everday, but not salad. Teach em young, and they will pay heed. I hear all the time about kids teaching their relatives a new language, but why not nutrition?

You make it so a small salad isn’t more expensive than your average fast food deluxe meal supersized with 8 times the calories.

No you can’t control what people will dump into their bodies. But you can at least provide detailed information on what they are consuming and make portions proper sized. Its a start, and its controllable.

[/quote]

It always pissed me off how shitty school lunches were. We feed our kids processed carbs for breakfast, processed carbs and trans fats for lunch, and then expect them to perform in the classroom and the athletic field. That’s ass-backwards thinking if I ever heard it. Some school lunch rooms are starting to offer “healthy alternatives” to the normal lunches. Isn’t it fucked up that a healthy meal is considered an alternative?

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[quote]TigerFighter wrote:

Spartan, I didn’t take it as an attack, and I understand where your coming from.

My Dad drank and smoked himself to death. As a result, I neither drink nor smoke, as I swore as I watched him lying there in a hospital bed, that I would never put my kids through that.

But today, as I am walking to the gym, I see a lady with flat tire in the gym parking lot. She was obese, and was struggling. Did I ignore her? No. I changed her tire.

Why did I do it? Because she needed help. She is still a person, and she has limitations. Some people take drugs, some people cry, some people work out and others eat too much, as an outlet. Is it the best outlet? Hell no. But people do what they do. As I said before, I am less sympathetic to the steroid freaks who know what they are doing is wrong, and just don’t care.

People on here saying these people should die, thats just wrong. Just as you said, when your family is walking around, do you want people who managed to care for their bodies to be wishing death upon them?

I do think the goverment needs to regulate this area. The goverment is for the people, and if this epidemic as they call it doesn’t warrent attention, tell me what does?

As far as seeing someone in a gym, getting nowhere fast, I understand sometimes people don’t take advice. But sometimes they do. If I see someone struggling and they seem to need help, I will offer up some words. If they choose not to do it, thats their right. But stop and think. They are in the gym. If they are that obese, they are not there for looking at others. They want help. Whats the harm in helping out even if they never do it. Maybe at some point it will sink in. You didn’t lose anything in trying.

[/quote]

I’m not saying I wouldn’t help an overweight person, in fact I was saying the exact opposite, but maybe I wasn’t being clear. I help the ones I care to help the most, i.e. family and friends. Most of the time they just ignore me and go about their business making Frito-Lays stock go through the roof. If someone else reached out and asked, I’d try my best to help if possible.

Hate is too strong of a word, too. Fat people just frustrate and aggravate me to no end, but I really can’t say I hate them.

44

[quote]TigerFighter wrote:
pookie wrote:
TigerFighter wrote:
I do think the goverment needs to regulate this area. The goverment is for the people, and if this epidemic as they call it doesn’t warrent attention, tell me what does?

How would the government regulate this? How can you control how many bags of chips someone eats in his living room?

You can’t. But you can make nutrition information easier to read. I saw on the news there was a blueberry muffin that boasted only 150 calories per serving. They then added in small print serving size three. For one muffin.

You can teach kids how to read a label on food. Schools have no issue dishing out fries everday, but not salad. Teach em young, and they will pay heed. I hear all the time about kids teaching their relatives a new language, but why not nutrition?

You make it so a small salad isn’t more expensive than your average fast food deluxe meal supersized with 8 times the calories.

No you can’t control what people will dump into their bodies. But you can at least provide detailed information on what they are consuming and make portions proper sized. Its a start, and its controllable.

[/quote]

The information is out there. If someone is too lazy to turn a package over and read, you really can’t blame anyone else but them. Whether a package states “3 servings” or not, it isn’t invisible. If people really cared, they would pay attention to it. It shouldn’t require companies to make their entire packaging consist of how many calories are in the product.

Further, the price of a salad at Mc Donald’s isn’t more expensive. What causes that to not make a difference is the person throws on 5 cups of salad dressing, cheese and whipped cream on top of the salad and then wonders why they need the jaws of life to exit their vehicles.

45

[quote]spartanpower wrote:
It always pissed me off how shitty school lunches were. We feed our kids processed carbs for breakfast, processed carbs and trans fats for lunch, and then expect them to perform in the classroom and the athletic field. That’s ass-backwards thinking if I ever heard it. Some school lunch rooms are starting to offer “healthy alternatives” to the normal lunches. Isn’t it fucked up that a healthy meal is considered an alternative?[/quote]

I disagree, most schools have very rigirous health standards their foods have to meet, some more than you would even imagine. If “sugar” or “corn syrup” is the first ingredient, it is not allowed to be served, or even offered anymore as an “alternative”. You can’t force the kids to eat healthy, but if that is all you offer they will have to eat healthy or go hungry. Still can’t enforce what a kid brings to school to eat though, and never will be able to.

Yes it wasn’t always that way, but they are making great changes and it will take time for these to be effective, if at all. What I don’t understand tough, is the link between school lunch and childhood obesity? The food has never really been that bad, honestly. It’s the vending machines and the foods the kids eat before and after school (and the weekends) that do it. It never has been the school lunch.

46

Wow we’ve got some serious anger and hatred and ignorance in this thread.

Since I can’t stand talking about this kinda thing on the internet, I’ll just put it like this:

judge not lest ye be judged, and walk a mile in someone’s whoes before you judge them.

47

[quote]disciplined wrote:
and walk a mile in someone’s whoes before you judge them.[/quote]

Good advice. That way, if you piss them off with you judgement, then you’ve got a mile headstart and their shoes.

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[quote]pookie wrote:
…then you’ve got a mile headstart and their shoes.[/quote]

hahaha

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[quote]pookie wrote:
disciplined wrote:
and walk a mile in someone’s whoes before you judge them.

Good advice. That way, if you piss them off with you judgement, then you’ve got a mile headstart and their shoes.
[/quote]

Yup. Besides, those shoes are screaming for exercise. If these people walked a couple miles in their own shoes from time to time, instead of just taking them to the refrigerator, we wouldn’t need to judge them at all. They’d be healthy.

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From the original article:

Scary for whom? Think about it: You can’t even lift your own fat, fucking ass. Now how do you imagine it would be for those tiny slaves that have to lift “Jabba the Butt”'s royal heinie-ass.

If it’s a person like the one quoted above, how about we chop them into smaller, managable pieces. The whole world would end up more dignified.

Here’s a clue: If your whole family is fat, its because you all grew up with poor nutrition, and fed the same poor nutrition to your kids. Endless cycle. Only it gets worse over the years as trashier foods emerge, while your intelligence stays submerged.

51

Sounds like they need a Great John.

THE GREAT JOHN TOILET

COMFORT ISSUES

A regular toilet has a terribly small seat. This creates very uncomfortable pressure points, consequently producing numbness in the legs and thighs from lack of proper blood flow. Our toilet seats have 150% more contact surface area than a standard elongated seat, yet it can be used by a small person or a child in a safe way. Considering ergonomics, the toilet seat and bowl have more than 6 extra inches in the front. We made the toilet bowl 17.5 inches tall, which gives most people an easier time getting up. It also makes it ADA compliant.

SAFETY ISSUES

The Great John is substantially more robust than a standard toilet. Standard designs are not meant to withstand a big person. For STABILITY, we designed a super wide base. To insure STURDINESS, we also added reinforcements into the base. Our toilets are tested to 2000 lb. To eliminate the problem of the SEAT SLIDING, we provide “Anti-Slide” fins for safety. This also prevents pinching. Finally, GJ has added a second SET OF ANCHORS at the front sides of the base to increase protection against movement of the unit from the floor.

52

[quote]pookie wrote:
From reading this thread, I wonder if a fat person stepping into a gym gets similar reactions. Maybe not in so many words, but in dirty looks and mocking chuckles…

[/quote]

personally, i think a fat person in a gym full of fit people deserves a big pat on the back for being brave as all hell, and trying to take the power back.

53

[quote]Kainjer wrote:
Sounds like they need a Great John.

THE GREAT JOHN TOILET

COMFORT ISSUES

A regular toilet has a terribly small seat. This creates very uncomfortable pressure points, consequently producing numbness in the legs and thighs from lack of proper blood flow. Our toilet seats have 150% more contact surface area than a standard elongated seat, yet it can be used by a small person or a child in a safe way. Considering ergonomics, the toilet seat and bowl have more than 6 extra inches in the front. We made the toilet bowl 17.5 inches tall, which gives most people an easier time getting up. It also makes it ADA compliant.

SAFETY ISSUES

The Great John is substantially more robust than a standard toilet. Standard designs are not meant to withstand a big person. For STABILITY, we designed a super wide base. To insure STURDINESS, we also added reinforcements into the base. Our toilets are tested to 2000 lb. To eliminate the problem of the SEAT SLIDING, we provide “Anti-Slide” fins for safety. This also prevents pinching. Finally, GJ has added a second SET OF ANCHORS at the front sides of the base to increase protection against movement of the unit from the floor.
[/quote]

I’d like to have one. My legs always fall asleep when I’m on the throne for a longer time than usual, usually after my new Motor Trend arrives each month.

54

Watch Fast Food Nation if you want a better understanding of the addictive nature of fast food.

A food addiction is similar to others -it starts with self-esteem and ignorance, and it’s insidious - it creeps up on people. Once they’re that far along, they’re self-esteem is so low they’ve pretty much given up on ever being normal.

Not that it’s an excuse. At all. It’s just how it is, and it’s really sad.

It’s also sad that this pattern is so enthusiastically reinforced by our culture, advertising, product development, school programs, etc. Even the mainstream health care system has a pretty outdated idea of what constitutes a healthy diet.

Junk food is everywhere, it’s addictive, and it’s cheap. Not an excuse. But certainly a contributing factor. Of course, the capitalist system isn’t going to change. That’s what good nutrition programs in schools, good cafeteria choices (ie. NO junk in schools and school cafeterias), public health education, etc. is for. But the gov’t doesn’t want to give up those Pepsi sponsorship dollars in its schools.

55

[quote]Jinx Me wrote:
pookie wrote:
From reading this thread, I wonder if a fat person stepping into a gym gets similar reactions. Maybe not in so many words, but in dirty looks and mocking chuckles…

personally, i think a fat person in a gym full of fit people deserves a big pat on the back for being brave as all hell, and trying to take the power back.

[/quote]
I agree. I see them in my gym and I think, “good for you and good luck. I’m glad you’re here.”

Then I think, “now get a move on, you’re blocking my view of that fine piece of ass in the corner.”

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[quote]HoosierFan wrote:
[/quote]

You know you’ve got kids when you know that HoosierFan’s avatar’s name is Sheldon J. Plankton…

57

The interesting thing is that these people can survive in these times because the economy and the like can support them. What would happen if we hit a depression? oh they would skinny up, but they would struggle to deal with the lifestyle changes. No one would be able to pay for the health situations they have created for themselves… etc.